Are you a traveler who enjoys to stay active on vacation? Yes? Well, same here. While I enjoy the relaxing and resting (R&R) aspect of travel and vacation, I like to stay active when possible. Primarily because it brings me joy and happiness and gives me a sense of energy too. I love to explore new places and walking/biking/running is a great option to explore a new city, town or country. Walk or run on the beach? Explore the city downtown by foot? Bike through a beautiful park? Hike through the mountains and waterfalls? The options are endless for each and every person and their preferred individual activity level. So I decided to take my own advice and form my own adventure on my Hawaii trip in December 2021.
My last trip to Oahu, Hawaii was a decade ago, back in 2011. Having hardly traveled much in my life before then, most of my vacations and trips were with family to India, Canada, and within the United States. Hawaii 2011 was really my first planned trip and the humble beginnings of all my travel adventures. Back in 2011, we took a mother and daughter trip to Oahu. When Mom and I hiked the famous Diamond Head back then, we ended up hiking it with a guide since I had no idea what to expect. I also wasn’t an avid hiker back then and I wanted to ensure we had the support we needed. Safety first. Fast forward 10 years later and with more travel experience, I decided to form my own itinerary and hike without a guide. And doubled the fun and adventure by with a bike and hike!
The Waikiki Beach area is touristy but also extremely well connected to retail shops, restaurants, the beach and the bikes! Yes, the bikes! The Waikiki area has a number of Biki stations. Biki is somewhat similar to the Citi Bikes or Lyft bike options available in other major U.S. cities. Basically you swipe a credit card and rent a bike for a short or long ride. When you’re ready, you can return the bike at any available station. Many of the streets in Waikiki have designated bike paths to enable riders to safely bike alongside the traffic. In my opinion, it is a great way to see the area – feel the breeze and cool air as you bike through the streets of Waikiki or bike on the outskirts of Kapiolani Park. One caveat when it comes to Biki? Definitely the payment system which can be a bit wonky at times. Have some patience and give it some time when you swipe your card. It failed to read my card a few times and that could have been due to a faulty payment system or tech at one of the stations.
Diamond Head is about 2.5 miles from the central tourist part of Waikiki. While one could walk the distance, I decided to bike it on a sunny and warm day. The weather was perfect for an outdoor bike ride. I wish I had started a little earlier in the morning when its slightly cooler and to give myself more time to stop and see (and take photos) but nonetheless, my timing worked out pretty well. It was an easy bike ride for the first half but the second half was all uphill and increased the adventure level of the ride tenfold. By the time I reached the entrance of Diamond Head, I was already pretty sweaty. And that was just part 1 of my adventure! The hike came next. It was a bit challenging to find a good spot to drop off the bike at the closest Biki station but the map online and their customer service was able to help me find it fairly quickly. I have to admit – I was lost for some time but calling customer service helped a lot. They were able to help me navigate to the closest station to drop the bike which was around 5-7 minutes away from the Diamond Head (DH) entrance. From the station, I ended up walking back to the main entrance to Diamond Head.
OMW (On My Way) to the hike next. Diamond Hike is a good introduction hike for all experience levels and ages. Its neither too long nor too difficult of the hike. All one needs is the spirit to hike and a decent pair of walking shoes or sneakers. Its a $5 entrance fee and can be paid by credit card or cash. Fun fact: on the day of my hike, two of the three ticketing machines were down which meant a very long line to get tickets. The upside? The line moved quickly. If everything was perfect, there would be no adventure in adventure, right? I’m still not sure why the payment kiosks were down, maybe it was some technical glitch. Anyway, once you have your ticket, you are all set to start the beautiful hike. Oh and another nice thing about the entrance are the refreshments and snacks you can purchase, either before or after the hike. If you like pineapples, there are a ton of pineapple options here from pineapple softie to pineapple slices to pineapple juice. The choices are endless.
The hike is about 0.8 miles up and another 0.8 miles down. If you include all the walking from the entrance (which does include some uphill walking), its about 2.5 miles in total. Overall a great way to spend the morning and get those steps in, if that’s your thing. It was a sunny and beautiful day but given it was also the rain season, there was the occasional drizzle or light rain drop here and there. The rain wasn’t too bad and it was actually a nice bonus because we ended up seeing a couple of beautiful rainbows during the hike. Trust me, it is breathtaking to see the rainbow spread across the mountains and sky. Along with my fellow hikers, there were many stops to take photos. The views during the hike are amazing as you make your way thru the trail. They just gets better and better the higher up you go until the pinnacle point and result in some epic photographs especially on a clear and sunny day. At one point, hikers can see the Waikiki and all the hotels and resorts from high above. Its an amazing view.
The trail was reasonably crowded on a Sunday late morning / early afternoon. I tried to keep my mask on for most of the hike due as a safety precaution when things got crowded. Fortunately people respect space and there are signs to social distance where possible. I started my hike around 11am local Hawaiian time which is a bit on the late side but still a morning start. The biking adventure ended up adding some extra time but with no regrets. It beats taking a shuttle or an Uber – I wouldn’t have had much to reminisce and write about otherwise! Remember, bike does rhyme with hike and they can go hand-in-hand!
Have you hiked the same trail? What were your thoughts? Any other recommended hiking spots in Hawaii? I’d love to hear all about it! Your experience, the good, the not so good and everything else in between.